Maurice Jones, a 34-year-old African American man, was shot and killed on January 10, 2020, outside a corner store at Lexington Street and California Avenue in the Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago. Jones and a 39-year-old man were approached by Napoleon Sharkey, known as Jackknife, who was driving a white Infiniti SUV and allegedly held them at gunpoint from the driver’s side window. The 39-year-old ran as Sharkey turned the corner; he heard gunfire, was struck in the buttocks, and saw Jones on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds. Jones was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Investigators recovered six Smith and Wesson .40-caliber shell casings at the scene. Surveillance and witness statements tied Sharkey to the incident: eight POD cameras tracked the Infiniti after the shooting, a cell phone number Sharkey had given the Illinois Department of Corrections matched the Infiniti’s movements, and the 39-year-old identified Sharkey by nickname and in a photo array. Napoleon Sharkey, 32, a parolee, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder; during a hearing Judge Arthur Wesley Willis denied bail, citing Sharkey’s dangerousness and prior unlawful-use-of-a-weapon-by-a-felon convictions. No motive was provided by prosecutors at the hearing.

Did anyone who knew Maurice Jones or who was near Lexington and California that night see or hear anything that could help clarify why this happened?